Coin-controlled machine



No. 6ll,07l. Patented Sept. 20, I898. J. G. MAcPHERSON.

COIN CONTROLLED MACHINE.

[Application filed Apr. 14, 1898.1

(No Model.) 4 Sheets-Sheet l.

13 1 PS2 I ,/Z' h B 2 \JR 7 m? l 8 F /0 2 Patented Sept. 20, I898.

J. G. MAOPHERSUN.

com CONTROLLED MACHINE.

(Application filed Apr. 14, 1898.)

4 Sheets$heet 2.

(N0 Model.)

Witumo M 6,

Patented Sept. 20, I898.

J. a. MAcPHERS0N. COIN CONTROLLED MACHINE.

(Application filed Apr. 14, 1898. v

4 Sheets-Sheet 3.

(No Model.)

QX/Rw coma cums Pans co, worcxu'ru No. 6l|,O7l. Patented Sept. 20, I898.J. G. NAcPHERSON.

COIN CONTROLLED MACHINE.

(Application filed Apr. 14, 1598) MM) 4 Sheets8heet 4.

m: nonms rains ca. PHDYO-LITNO,WAMIKC'TON, 0 cv UNITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

J OIIN G. MACPHEBSON, OF BUFFALO, NElV YORK.

COIN-CONTROLLED MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 611,071, datedSeptember 20, 1898.

Application filed April 14, 1898. Serial No. 677,539. (No model.)

T to whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JOHN G. MAcPrIEusoN, a citizen of the United Statesof America, and a resident of Buffalo, in the county of Erie and Stateof New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inCoin-Controlled Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in coin-controlled machines, andhas special reference to a machine for automatically exhibiting picturesor photos to View.

The main object of my invention is the provision of a machine of thischaracter in which a coin forms a part of the electrical circuits tostart an exhibiting mechanism to revolve a drum carrying pictures orphotographs and at the same time light an electric light.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a machine of thischaracter which is very simple, durable, and inexpensive in constructionand operation, very amusing and profitable in use and practice, as wellas very attractive and ornamental in appearance, thus producing athoroughly eflicient andeffective and practical machine.

Figure 1 represents a front elevation of my machine. Fig. 2 is ahorizontal sectional View looking from the top. Fig. 3 is a detail sideelevation of the coin-chute and circuit-maker. Fig. i is a detaillongitudinal section of my machine. Fig. 5 is a perspective View of oneof the picture or photo holders. Fig. 6 is a similar view to Fig. at,taken from the opposite side of the machine. Fig. 7 is a detailperspective view of part of the coin-releasing mechanism. Fig. 8 is asimilar view of the remainder of the coin-releasing mechanism. Fig. 9 isan enlarged view of the shaft and gear driving mechanism. Fig. 10 is adiagrammatic view of the electrical circuits, their connections andvarious positions, the uses of the circuits being fully shown; and Fig.11 is an enlarged view of the other or modified form of drivingmechanism.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates the casing, in whose bodyportion 2 is arranged all the mechanism. Upon the front of this 3, andit will also be noticed that the sides of this body portion near the topare cut away to allow room for the removal of the slot-carrying section4, whose top edge fits close under the slanting top piece 5, carryingthe lens or observation-window G, and to one side of said window is theelectrical push-button 7, the purpose of which will appear hereinafter.

Depending from the shelf 8 of section 4, below the slot-opening 9, isthe coin-carrying guide or chute 10, which is held in place from anyforward or backward movement by an arm 11, which is secured to the underside of said shelf. Also secured upon the under side of this shelf is alog 12, which is engaged by the spring-actuated dog or detent 18,secured near the top edge of the back 14 of the inner shelf 15 to holdsaid slot-carrying section in a rigid position.

Secured upon the bottom of the casing is the branch block 16, to whichare connected the positive and negative wires 17 and 17 of any electriccurrent, which passes into the casing from the rear through the opening18.

To make the operation and construction of my machine more easy, I shalldescribe the circuits and their use and operation one at a time.

It will thus be seen that the wire 19 is connected to the rear of thebranch block at 20 and passes upward and is connected with thepush-button 7, another wire 21 then being secured to the other pole ofthe button and passed along backward and connected to the incandescentelectric lamp 22, secured upon the back of the casing, near the top, andanother wire 23 is secured to the other pole of said lamp and passesdownward and is connected to the branch block on its front side at 24:.It will thus be seen that by pushing the button this circuit iscompleted and the lamp is lighted, as the circuit is completed byconnection with the outside supply.

It will also be noticed that I secure a wire 25 to the same pole that Isecure the wire 19 to and that said wire 25 passes slantingly upwardthrough the opening 26 in the back lt and is connected to the pole 27,secured to the plate 28, having rising therefrom or formed integraltherewith the standard 29, in whose upper end is pivoted the arm 30,carrying the depending wing 31 at its inner end and the right-angled arm32 at its other end, a spring 33 being secured upon the shelf andbearing upon the under side of the arm 32 to cause the wing 31 to pressagainst the coin 34 and cause a circuit, as will presently appear. Uponthis shelf, to one side of this plate 28, is another plate 35, havingrising therefrom or formed integral therewith the slotted standard 36,through which is adapted to fall a coin and be held between thestandards 29 and 36 by the wing 31 ofthe pivoted arm, after which it isreleased and falls through the slot 37 in the shelf into the coindrawer38, slidingly mounted below said shelf. Upon the plate 35 is a pole 39,to which is connected the wire 40, which is connected to theswitch-block 41, and to the other pole of said block is connected ashort wire 42, connected at its other end to the post 43, to which alsois connected the wire 44, which passes through the opening 45 in theback of the shelf downward and is connected to the resistance-lamp orproper rheostat 46. A wire 47 is connected to the other pole of saidlamp and passes upward through the opening 45 and is connected to thepost 48 of the motorcarrying base 49, upon which is mounted the motor50, and connected to the other post 51 of the base is the wire 52, whichpasses backward and out through the opening 53 in the back of the shelfand downward to the front of the branch block at 24. This circuit is themain circuit and operates the exhibiting mechanism.

Secured in the post 43, together with the Wire 44, is the wire 54, whichpasses out through the opening 45 and upward out of the wayof theexhibiting mechanism to where it is connected to the incandescent lamp55, while upon the other pole of said lamp is connected the wire 56,whose other end is connected to the same post as the wire 23, whichforms the remainder of the circuit, and thus it will be seen that thecoin completes the circuit to operate the motor and light the lamp 55 atthe same time, and it will also be seen that should the resistance-lampbe loosened from its socket the motor will be thrown out of operation,while the lamp remains lighted.

Mounted in the upper part of the casing, upon the inside thereof, is theexhibiting mechanism, which consists of a frame 57, secured to the sideof the casing and having the perpendicular right angular -arranged arms58 formed integral therewith, and secured upon the ends of said arms orformed integral therewithis the metal strip 59. J ournaled between thisstrip and frame is the shaft 60, carrying the sprocket or gear wheel 61,which meshes with the worm gear 62 upon the end of the long shaft or rod63, whose upper end is journaled in the adjustable bearing-block 64,secured to said frame, and whose lower end is journaled in the bearin g64. Upon the lower end of this shaft is a gear-wheel 65, which mesheswith the wormgear 66, secured upon the shaft 67 of the electric motorwhich operates the shaft. Secured upon the outside end of the shaft is aslotted plate 68, having its ends 69 bent at right angles for thereception of the lug 70 upon the end of the removable shaft 71, whichcarries the circular disks 72 and 73, between which are movably securedin the openings 74 the rods 75, having movably mounted thereon thepicture or photo carrying device 76, which consists of the back 77,having the upturned edges 78 to grasp and hold the pictures in place.The other end of the main shaft is movably journaled in the dependingoutWardly-tensioned fiat spring-arm 79,which allows the picture-drum tobe very readily moved from the machine to be filled or refilled-asdesired. Upon the end of the shaft, near the spring-journal, is an arm80, which is adapted upon every revolution of the drum to contact thelever 81,whose innerend passes through the long opening 82 of the frame83 and is fulcru med in the short arm 84 of said frame. On the side ofthe short arm is ascrew 85, upon which is secured a wire spring 86,whose short end bears upon the top of the frame, while its long end 87is hooked and engages the lever 81 to return the lever to its normalposition when released from engagement with the arm 80. When the lever81 is I forced downward, it forces the rod 88 also downward, said rodhaving its upper end secured in the opening 89 of said lever and passingthrough the eyed lug 90, near the lower end of the frame, and belowwhich the lower end of said rod contacts the right-angled arm of thepivoted arm 32, which releases the coin from engagement and allows it tofall into the coin-drawer and at the same time causes a circuit throughsaid arms 32, rod 88, lug 90, and the foot 89 of the frame, to which isconnected the wire 90, whose other end is connected to the post 91 ofthe slotted standard 36, thus completing another circuit with theremaining wires of the main circuit. Upon the foot 89 of the frame 83 isthe adjustable non-conducting stop 90, which prevents the pivoted armfrom making a short circuit through said frame. It will also be noticedthat when the arm upon the drums shaft engages the lever the lever isforced downward into engagement with a fiat springplate 92, secured uponthe side of the casing, and that connected to this plate is a wire 93,which passes downward and through the opening 45,where its other end isconnected to the post 94 of the electrical arm 'or hell 95, andconnected to the other post 96 is anotherwire 97, which passes backwardand out through the same opening, thence downward, where it is connectedto the post 98 of the dry or wet battery 99, to whose other post 100 isconnected the wire 101, which is passed upward and connected to theupper end of the spring 79, and thus it will be seen that anotherindependent circuit is completed every. revolution of the picture-drumto ring the bell or alarm and warn the observer that the pictures haveall been presented to view and also to warn the proprietor that themachine has been put in operation.

To keep the pictures from falling too soon, I secure upon the back ofthe shelf the springclip 102, whose free end 103 is curved downward, soas to allow the pictures to drop smoothly and evenly.

In the modified form of my invention shown in Fig. 10 in place of theshaft with the sprocket and worm gears I employ the band or cord 104,which connects in operation the pulley 105 upon the end of themotor-shaft and the pulley 106 upon the shaft 107, journaled in theframe 108.

From this description, taken in connection with the drawings, theoperation of my machine is readily understood; but, briefly stated,it isas follows: To obtain a view of one picture, it is simply necessary topush the button, which lights the electric light upon its circuit; butto obtain a view of all the pictures it is necessary to drop a coin inthe slot, from whence the coin falls down the chute to the slottedstandard, where it is held by the pivoted arm and completes twocircuits-that is, one which lights the lamp in the upper lefthand cornerand the other which operates the motor, which in turn revolves thedrum-revolving mechanism to revolve the drum. Said drum being revolvedthe short arm on its shaft engages the sprin g-actuated lever,whichreleases the coin and causes the same to drop by pressing the pivotedlever downward and thus switches the circuit from the coin to theintermediate frame; and when the springactuated lever is near its limitof movement it engages the spring-plate, which causes a circuit betweenthe bell, battery, and spring bearing-plate and causes the bell to ring,and when the drum has completed its revolution the short arm on theshaft is disengaged from the spring-actuated lever, which is returned toits normal position and the circuits are all broken and the mechanismcomes to a halt.

It is very evident that I provide a machine of this character which isoperated solely by the use of a coin, which forms or closes the circuit;which has a picture-carrying drum, which presents the pictures in frontof the universal lenses, which are always adjusted to suit the eyes;which is simple, durable, and cheap in construction and operation; whichmay be run or supplied by any kind of an electrical current, and whichis Very useful and practical for the intended purposes.

I claim- 1. In a coin-controlled picture-exhibitor, the combination witha casing, of the pictureexhibiting mechanism arranged therein, anelectrical circuit for revolving the pictureexhibiting mechanism andlighting an electric light, and another electrical circuit for ringingan alarm, when the exhibitor is near ing its full revolution, saidfirst-mentioned circuit being made by a coin and the lastmentionedcircuit being made simultaneously with the release of the coin.

2. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a casing, of anelectrical circuit caused by the coin to operate a motor, apicture-holding drum operated by said motor, an arm secured upon theshaft of said drum adapted to cause the release of the coin and completeanother circuit to continue the revolution of the drum, another circuitworking in connection with the aforesaid circuit to light an electriclight, and an observationwindow through which the pictures are observedduring the revolution of the drum.

3. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a casing, of anelectrically-0perated mechanism, a rod carrying at one end a worm-gearand at the other end a gearwheel operated by said electrical mechanism,a frame having journaled therein the short shaft carrying a worm-gearadapted to mesh with the gear-wheel upon said rod, a removable shaftcarrying disks between which are mounted movable picture-holders andhaving means secured on the shaft for releasing the coin and operatingan alarm.

1. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a casing, of arevoluble pictureexhibiting drum mounted therein, mechanism forrevolving the drum, an electrical circuit for operating said mechanism,a second electrical circuit for lighting a lamp simultaneously with therevolving of the drum, said circuits being completed or formed by acoin, and a third electrical circuit for ringing an alarm when theexhibitor is nearing the end of revolution.

5. In a coin-controlled machine, the combination with a casing, of aspring-bearing mounted upon one side of and upon the inside of thecasing, a frame mounted upon the other side of the casing and carrying arevolving mechanism and a revolving bearing, a detachablepicture-exhibiting drum having an arm on one end of its axle mountedbetween said spring-bearing and said revolving bearing,a motor foroperating the mechanism in the frame and the drum, electrical circuitsfor operating the motor and lighting an electric light at the same time,circuits adapted to be made by the coin, and a coin-releaser set inoperation by the said arm on the axle of the drum to release the coinand make another electrical circuit to ring an alarm and forming orcontinuing the other circuits also to continue the movement of the drum.

Signed by me, at \Vashington, District of Columbia, this 7th day ofApril, 1808.

.IOIIh G. MAOPIIERSON.

Witnesses:

U. C. OLEMENTs, DAVID P. Moons.

